Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pretender” come from?

Pretender comes from Middle French pretendre, from Latin praetendere meaning to put forward or allege, derived from the verb teneo meaning to hold.

pretender (English): A person who professes beliefs and opinions that...

Definitions

  1. A person who professes beliefs and opinions that...

Ancestry of “pretender”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtenderSensitive or painful to the touch; Easily bruised...
2EnglishtendTo make a tender of; to offer or tender; To be...
3Middle Englishtenden—
4Middle Englishattendento attend
5Old Frenchatendreto wait
6Latinattendō—
7Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
8Latinīn-—
9Latinîn—
10Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
11Proto-Italicenin
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “pretender”

  • pretendership
  • pretendress
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →